Score's a bit generous (flawed gameplay isn't too big of a deal, can be overlooked to a certain degree) but that's only because of the storyline/dialogue choice aspects. This was my second playthrough, and despite making similar choices this time, I ended up with a tangibly altered experience. Obsidian should make more games.

Blew through it over the past few days after the discount on PSN and really enjoyed it. What really struck me about it is how much better-written it is than the TV series. I came to care far more about the characters in the game in ten hours than I have for any in three seasons of that trash. They should think about poaching Telltale's writers to script season four.

It's a shame the gameplay doesn't quite match the quality of the story. The basic adventuring stuff is fine, but any time it tries to ramp up the action a bit everything becomes a bit of a mess. I didn't like the fact that almost every dialogue choice is so strictly timed either. I can understand it in certain situations, but there's often no rush at all, yet you're forced into one.

Technically it's a bit of a mess as well (on PS3 at least). Lots of stuttering and pauses, occasionally with the sound playing on during one, with the models having to catch up once it was done. It also just plain broke on me at one point. The camera just completely freaked out coming out of a dialogue, spinning off into the scenery. I was still in control of my character, but had to reset as I couldn't see the prompt to open the door I needed to enter.

Still, the story and characters really were brilliant. Even shed a few tears at the end. Playing this and Spec Ops back to back gave me some hope for the future of video game storytelling. I wouldn't say it was the GotY due to the actual "game" part, but it's a solid 8/10 even with its (many) flaws.

Really enjoyed this twist on the standard tower defence game. Knocking down score for a very frustrating checkpoint system and ultimely a lack of overall content ( which was highlighted by a poorly thought out 'Destroy 5000 Towers' Cheev).

Really, really enjoyed this throughout! It's pretty old school and doesn't really do anything new but it's very cinematic and just great, great fun! The more I played, the more I enjoyed the gun play, even if it is pretty damn brutal!!

It never gets old to dive through the air and take out 3 guys with head shots. The story, although not brilliant, was also pretty decent for a game of this kind and I definitely hope there's a Max Payne 4 now.

It's also a decent length (took me about 12 hours to complete) and I enjoyed the mixture of flashbacks and current missions.

I don't think it's quite as good as the original Max Payne but I still think Rockstar did a great job!

8.5/10

PS - Would have got a 9 but I thought the "enter a room, kill lots of bad guys" got a little too frequent towards the end.

What the game does it does very well, the polish and the stunning vistas and overall graphics and artwork are up there with the best, as are the set pieces.

While not as jaw dropping as Uncharted 2, it's hammered home to me that I really don't care about graphics that much. Because when it came to gameplay I'm not sure I was really enjoying myself, I wasn't NOT enjoying myself, I think I was just indifferent to the experience, I got the same feeling with Uncharted2 2/3rds of the way through.

I ended up trying to get from A to B as quickly as possible, being slightly annoyed at some of the scripted sections where you just hold up on the thumbstick and watch Lara do her thing, combat became highly repetitive. I'd liked it if Lara had a bigger personality (like drake) I'd like her to have more abilities and variety in the combat, I'd like more freedom and less handholding, my favourite feature was using the pickaxe to climb rocks, it just felt good hanging and climbing.

It's a Michael Bay game, its numb, it's a me too game trying too hard to please, but it's not poor quality, it's a good game and I'd like to give it a 7/10 as the developers have put the effort in and they deserver the returns, but for me it's a.

Very much enjoyed this. I've still got quite a lot of side missions to go, but I've finished the story. The shift mechanic is great and the sense of progression is excellent; by the end you do feel you've got to try out all sorts of real life cars. It's just bloody fun really. The story is mental, but in a knowing way and the whole coma thing is used well (if a little contrived).

Really loved this, honestly one of the best games I've ever played. Played with my girlfriend and she thought it was excellent too. Wish there was more games with story lines and characters as good as this. There were some glitches (had to rewind one episode due to not being able to select anything), so I guess it doesn't deserve a perfect 10, but it's definitely a classic.

Drake has the monopoly on matinee adventure this generation so it was good to see Crystal Dynamics mining altogether darker cinematic material. 70's grindhouse (I Spit On Your Grave, Cannibal Holocaust) and contemporary horror (The Descent) are the reference points here. Lara's early adopters will be in their late twenties/early thirties now, so it's good to see the franchise maturing accordingly.
The production design on display is also magnificent. The island of Yamatai feels like a real place and deserves to stand up there with this generation's best locations (Rapture, The Ishimura, Dunwall, City 17). I do love Uncharted but found that it's breathless pace especially by 3, was precluding any kind of exploration or down-time to appreciate the art rendering the experience a little shallow. Here the pace is slower, the layers of the island's history can be deciphered visually and this is supported by the myriad artifacts and audio-logs that bring this history to life. The Metroidvania, wrap-around level design also contributes greatly to this sense of place.
Lara's arc from timid, shipwreck-survivor to the unflinching, twin-pistol toting amazon is believable and I especially liked the way it is supported by the progression system. Exploration as well as providing texture to the narrative, nets XP, skill points and salvage which can be spent on upgrading Lara's abilities (including some brutal finishers at the top of the skill trees) or weaponry (the bow is great!). A compulsive gameplay loop is established with action and exploration netting rewards that further enhance action and exploration. Some have complained that the game is too short and you could probably run from end to end in under ten hours. This would result in a diluted experience in my opinion as you would miss all the background material and hidden tombs. Even worse, the skill trees would be underdeveloped, Lara's nascent potential would be unrealised and the whole point of the experience (A Survivor Is Born) would be compromised. Once you complete the game there is no-one left to kill so hoovering up XP after the conclusion is pointless.
My playthrough came to about 20 hours, with restarts. Played on Hard difficulty with 86% completion.
8/10

Was going to give up on this fairly early on as it didn't really grab me and the sheer scale was a bit overwhelming. However I had a real solid go at it over the past few days and managed to finish it off.

+ Excellent setting/game world
+ Looks great even on ageing hardware
+ Outpost taking: varied options to approach, my favourite ones were where I messed up doing the stealth and it turned into a firefight so I had to improvise
+ Wildlife and hunting
+ Range of weapons and the simple upgrade system
+ Tattoo/skills system: loved the visual representation of your progress
+ Some entertaining story missions (loved the Apocalypse Now inspired helicopter part)
+ Vaas

- Poor story/writing/characters (for the most part)
- Vaas is underused
- Can be clunky/fiddly, especially when trying to loot bodies, select a certain weapon quickly or doing the platforming bits on the radio towers
- Story missions are generally linear and leave little room for using different tactics/approaches
- Forced stealth sections
- 'Survival' aspect is lost fairly early on (feels like a missed opportunity; could have been so much better if you were much more isolated with no help from a supporting cast or gun stores everywhere; properly having to scavenge equipment and make your own way)

At its best (when taking the Outposts or having random stuff just happen) it's easily a 10/10 game, and I appreciate the improvements made over Far Cry 2, which I tried hard to love but just couldn't. However the poor story, restrictive story missions and occasional clunkiness bring it down for me. As much as I enjoyed parts of it I never felt truly immersed.

Speaking of Drake, after my yen for playing Uncharted 2 again after watching the somewhat shit National Treasure I blasted through it over the weekend.

On the second play through I rate it somewhat higher than I did the first time. I still think the combat can be tiresome at times and if some part kills you over and over again through little fault of your own then I say that's bad design. The tank section is a particularly irritating and cumbersome section, there's one particular part where I was trapped unless I sprinted through, if I waited any time then I was boned.

Still, the slow paced climbing sections are ace and the cinematic quality works very well sometimes. Having started playing the first one for the first time I can see a whole load of improvements they made for the second. The combat is actually better in the second one and Drake handles a lot better with less deaths due to dodgy camera angles.

My impressions from playing the game are in another thread. Here's what I have to say fresh from completing it.

What a mess, and I'm not even talking about the technical side of things.

Awful, boring combat, from a certain point on winnable with a single move. Horrible controls which make climbing a bloody chore. I can't turn a corner while hanging from a ledge because my hands are in the wrong position and I have to move up-down-left-right in circles until they are placed correctly? Fuck that.

Awful ending, full of aforementioned combat, capped by a lacklustre conclusion. Yeah, so we'll leave for a bit and when we get back, we kill you. Have fun replaying the horrible, repetitive missions looking for the stupid flags. And when you find them, nothing will happen.

And there was even no sex.

On the good side, it's pretty.

I don't think there's anything that can make me play more of these games after what I've just been through.